SAVE THE FROGS! Ghana's KNUST Chapter

Introduction

SAVE THE FROGS! Ghana's KNUST Chapter is the world's first official student chapter of SAVE THE FROGS!. Based at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology (KNUST) in Kumasi, Ghana, our mission is to protect the campus' twelve amphibian species and to support the nationwide efforts of SAVE THE FROGS! Ghana. You can contact us at ghana@savethefrogs.com.

Events

November 8th, 2014

Members of SAVE THE FROGS! Ghana KNUST Chapter (www.savethefrogs.com/knust) are embarking on a massive frog conservation education at local communities in the Kumasi Metropolis area. The outreach targets local schools to inspire the students to pursue environmental careers. They will also distribute free educational materials to the local people. SAVE THE FROGS! KNUST's outreach focuses on communities that fringe the Wewe River, a 13 hectare remnant upland forest and wetland that runs through the university and is important habitat for twelve frog species. This riparian environment also forms part of the Upper Guinean Forest, one of the world's 34 biodiversity hotspots and has been referred to as the oasis of Kumasi's tropical biodiversity. Unfortunately, local people use this area as "wasteland" and dump water and liquid waste. There is also widespread illegal farming activities and continuous extraction of bamboo and trees by local people. Thanks to the SAVE THE FROGS! KNUST Chapter for educating the Kumasi community, restoring degraded habitat along the Wewe River, and for inspiring other people in the world to take action on behalf of amphibians! Founded in 2011, the SAVE THE FROGS! KNUST is the world's first international university chapter of SAVE THE FROGS!.

April 26, 2014

SAVE THE FROGS! Ghana's KNUST chapter (the world's first university chapter of SAVE THE FROGS!), has won a £6,000 (~US$10,000) award from the Rufford Foundation. The award will enable the team headed by Kojo Kwakye Ofori Amanfo (a Teaching Assistant and a chapter member) to carry out an amphibian monitoring and restoration project dubbed KNUST Wewe River Amphibian Project (K-WRAP). The KNUST Wewe River is a primary drainage system of one of southern Ghana's largest watersheds that passes through the country's premiere science university at its botanic gardens.

The Wewe watershed is also an important habitat to at least 12 frog species but just as in most riparian environments in Ghana, these frogs are seriously threatened from land-use activities. Activities such as farming and fuelwood extraction, and illegal disposal of sewage have led to frogs' decline precipitously. In line with this, the K-WRAP team will implement ecological and social interventions to protect the frogs and other co-occurring wildlife on the university campus such as the vulnerable Dwarf Crocodile (Osteolaemus tetraspis), the world's smallest crocodile to prevent their extinction. The team will also rally support of the student body to pressurize university authorities to ban farming along the Wewe River, and disposal of untreated waste directly into the river.

Currently, a third of the world's amphibian species are threatened with extinction, with habitat destruction being the greatest contributor to this conservation problem. K-WRAP is therefore a rapid response action being employed to reverse the situation and contribute to global efforts in preventing the amphibian extinction crisis. Thanks to the Rufford Foundation for helping save the KNUST frogs!

April 27, 2013

November 3rd, 2012

September 29th, 2011 - Kumasi

SAVE THE FROGS! Founder Dr. Kerry Kriger will give a presentation on frog conservation from 12p-1p. The inaugural meeting of the SAVE THE FROGS! Ghana KNUST Chapter will be held from 1p-2pm. Refreshments will be served. All students and professors are welcome to attend. Location: Faculty of Renewable Natural Resources Auditorium

October 27th, 2011 - Kumasi

The next SAVE THE FROGS! Ghana KNUST Chapter meeting will take place October 27th at 1pm. Location to be announced.

Chapter Goals

Protect the KNUST campus' amphibian populations

KNUST is fortunate to have many wetlands on campus and twelve different amphibian species. Unfortunately, illegal farming and small-scale but continuous extraction of bamboo and trees threatens the streams and wetlands. Students will work with the University's administration to enforce protection of the campus' environment. Particular problem areas include the Arboretum and the crocodile reserve.

Educate fellow KNUST students about amphibians

If people don't know a problem exists, it is incredibly difficult to fix the problem. KNUST Chapter members will educate their fellow students about the campus' amphibian populations and the overall importance of amphibians. Activities include:

(1) Creating educational signs to be placed near sidewalks and roads that pass by the campus' wetlands. Signs will inform passersby about the frogs that live in that wetland.

(2) Leading field trips to look for frogs each semester, and organizing presentations by guest speakers on topics related to environmental conservation.

(3)
Promoting SAVE THE FROGS! activities to the students and professors of the different faculties and involving them in relevant programs: artists in the SAVE THE FROGS! Art Contest; writers in the Poetry Contest; engineers developing recycling capabilities; etc...

Hold an Annual Save The Frogs Day event on campus

Save The Frogs Day is the single best time of year to raise awareness and funds for amphibian conservation, and is the easiest time to get people actively involved saving frogs. The KNUST chapter of SAVE THE FROGS! Ghana will organize a Save The Frogs Day event on campus each year to highlight problems frogs face on campus and throughout Ghana. Save The Frogs Day receives worldwide publicity and thus is an excellent time to bring international attention to the threats to Ghana's frog populations. Save The Frogs Day occurs annually towards the end of April.

Help create the Atewa Hills National Park

The Atewa Range Forest Reserve is Ghana's most biodiverse -- and most threatened -- wilderness area. The SAVE THE FROGS! KNUST Chapter will be assisting nationwide and international efforts to protect this forest reserve as Ghana's sixth national Park, the Atewa Hills National Park.

Educate students in Kumasi schools

Undergraduates will give presentations on frog conservation to local elementary, middle and high schools students to help ensure the students grow up with respect and appreciation for their natural heritage, and to ensure that there is a large future pool of environmental conservationists. KNUST students should help the schools set up their own chapters, which can be supervised by the KNUST student.

Institute recycling program at KNUST

In Ghana, recycling -- and indeed the entire reduce, re-use, recycle philosophy -- is virtually non-existent. SAVE THE FROGS! Ghana's KNUST Chapter will be working with the university to build the infrastructure for recycling (e.g. recycling containers, removal and transportation to the recycling depot), and will be educating students about the importance of recycling.

Benefits of Membership

The most important benefit of membership is that you will be helping secure a healthy environment for yourself, your family and all the wildlife of Ghana. You will also learn important skills that will benefit you personally and professionally. You will have access to undergraduate research awards, and have fun saving frogs.

Undergraduate Research Awards

Every undergraduate student in the Department of Renewable Natural Resources at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology is required to complete a semester long research project in order to graduate. SAVE THE FROGS! Ghana has committed to awarding a minimum of three awards each semester to talented undergraduates conducting amphibian research projects. The projects will be supervised by SAVE THE FROGS! Ghana Executive Director Gilbert Adum and will help train the student in amphibian conservation techniques, while gathering important data that STF! Ghana seeks. Awards will be in the amount of 100 cedis ($66), which pays the undergraduate's stipend and associated research costs. Students must be current members of SAVE THE FROGS! Ghana's KNUST Chapter to be eligible for these awards.

Meet the KNUST Patrons

Godfred Owusu-Boateng

Kumasi, Ghana

Godfred is a lecturer in the Department of Fisheries and Watershed Management, Faculty of Renewable Natural Resources of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Sciences and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi. He has been lecturing courses including Limnology; Biodiversity Conservation and Management; and Wetlands conservation and Management. He holds a BSc in Natural Resources Management, MSc from the Department of Biochemistry and MSc in Environmental Resources Management. Godfred has been instrumental in studies involving environmental conservation with special emphasis on aquatic ecology. He is interested in the determination of the states of degradation of aquatic habitats; causes and impacts of the degradations on health of human and the environment; and the suitable mitigation measures towards restoration and conservation. He has supervised a number of students for the award of Master of Science degrees in environmental/aquatic resources management and has also undertaken local, national and international consultancies in this area.